OMG I am so beyond happy about this book. It's a new fave and I might even like it better than The Creeping.

Have you ever read a book that you love only to find that it's the author's only book out right now and you have to WAIT to get your hands on more by this potential favorite author?? As the pub. date approaches, you start to get nervous that maybe you won't like the book as well as the first book. And you can't decide if you want the book to have the same feeling to it or be completely different. You just know that you want it to make you as happy as you were when you read the first book.

Well, maybe for the first time EVER, this has worked out for me. I read [b:The Creeping|23309610|The Creeping|Alexandra Sirowy|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1439787121s/23309610.jpg|25878877] and completely loved it. The feelings, the atmosphere, the boy.... it was so unexpected and I was DYING to read more by Alexandra Sirowy. Now, The Telling is out, and I can tell you if you liked The Creeping, you will like this book. It feels so much like that book, but it's different enough.

Two months ago Lana's step-brother Ben was murdered by an unknown man who supposedly had a red painted face. Now, the only witness to the crime (an unreliable, maybe involved ex-girlfriend named Maggie) is found dead. As Lana goes back through the memories of her brother, she decides that she needs to solve this mystery. Did the red-faced man kill Maggie to keep her quiet? Is Lana going to be next??

This book is set on an island near Seattle. You have to take a ferry to get there. It totally reminded me of [b:Burn for Burn|13406425|Burn for Burn (Burn for Burn, #1)|Jenny Han|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1332791803s/13406425.jpg|15571673] and [b:Zoey Fools Around|1044852|Zoey Fools Around (Making Out, #1)|Katherine Applegate|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1375604621s/1044852.jpg|1031271] series of my youth, and I completely loved it. It took the creepiness feeling to a higher level because-- isolation = scary. I loved the mystery and there were flashbacks including stories that Ben used to make up for games of make-believe when they were kids. The stories were always kind of twisted and horror-like and it added to the plot because I just never knew if these stories were going to become part of the mystery-- like the monsters of the stories might somehow be real??

What I love about this book and The Creeping is the fine line between the supernatural and reality. When things don't have easy answers, sometimes it's easier to think something creepy or unexplainable is going on. And sometimes if you dig deep enough, it is explainable. I like not being sure which one it's going to be.

OVERALL: YES!!! I was supremely happy with Alexandra Sirowy's 2nd book. It lived up to my high expectations and gave me back everything I loved in The Creeping and more. I recommend both books-- especially during this time of year.

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I was definitely drawn into The Telling by Alexandra Sirowy because of two things: that amazing cover and the last line of the synopsis summarizing the book into three simple words, love, blood, and murder. Who doesn’t want to read about love, blood, and murder? Those are the three BEST things to read about! Certainly, I was not disappointed. In fact, Alexandra Sirowy blew me away with The Telling where now I’m hoping there could be a sequel for reasons I’ll talk about below.

Normally, if I read YA, it tends to be fantasy, so for me to pick up a contemporary YA book really felt like a nice break of pace. It honestly, at the start, reminded me a bit of Gossip Girl (the tv show, never got into the books). Rich, privileged, 17 year olds getting away with anything they want thanks to neglectful parents and legal system. Then you have Lana and Willa, the Brooklyn Gossip Girl crowd that somehow make their way into the cool kids group. I loved it to be honest! But, that was only the very first impression since within the first few pages, everything changes as Lana pulls a body out of the water. The body of a girl she hated.

As the book progresses, more people are killed connected to Lana, people Lana hated. Lana begins to doubt her sanity. I begin to doubt her sanity and secretly think she’s committing the crimes and just blacking out. Why would she do that, one might ask. Well, because off screen, before the book has started, her step-brother was murdered.

SPOILERS?? SPOILERS?? SPOILERS?? SPOILERS?? SPOILERS?? SPOILERS??

A STEP-BROTHER SHE WAS IN LOVE WITH!!! IS THIS A SPOILER I DON’T KNOW BUT HONESTLY I’M SO EXCITED ABOUT IT I JUST NEED TO LET IT OUT! I absolutely love that trope in books, siblings or step-siblings kinda falling in love with each other and not out of abuse or necessity, but naturally. So, I was just reading this and the masterful way Sirowy has Lana talk about Ben just places the barest hint that maybe her feelings were more than just sisterly. So, I waited, and read, and kept thinking please, let it be so, and it was!

Though, okay, that wasn’t what made me love the book. What actually made me love the book was the suspense and trying to figure out who was actually committing the murders and why. Then, trying to untangle Ben’s shadowy past to find out what led him and his mother to Lana and her father. The character development was well done, pacing was FANTASTIC!! Never once did I feel like it was going too slow, or too fast. It just continually had me wanting to know what would happen next.

The Telling by Alexandra Sirowy is a marvelous YA contemporary mystery novel that seems to do everything right. Characters are developed and progress naturally through the story, the plot and mystery are well thought out and written. It was simply a great book!

// I received this title for free in exchange for an honest review // ( )

Overall a nice book. I really enjoyed this book up until the ending. I really liked Ben and how much he loved and supported Lana. The ending crushed me. The book brought great excitement with its twists. There are many parts in the book which takes you on an emotional journey. I was so into the book, I couldn't stop reading it. The book is great for its genre.

*I received this book in exchange for an honest review. ( )

** I received a copy of this book for free through a Goodreads giveaway. **

I mostly enjoyed this book. The tension held throughout and while I had an idea from fairly early on as to what the twist would be, it still worked and I was never certain I had figured it out until the very end. Most of the characters were unlikeable in one way or another but that made them more human in my opinion. Very recognizable high school characters. I didn't love this book but I did enjoy it and would recommend it to anyone who enjoys thrillers and/or mysteries. ( )

Lana loved her safe life in their picture-perfect island home, with her friends all around and stories of her beloved step-brother ringing in her ears. But now Ben is gone and there's nothing safe about her life. She's taking bigger and bolder risks everyday, which is both good and bad. And soon the bad will catch up with her. ( )